[Baypiggies] Chompapps Position - from Issue 31

resmith at runbox.com resmith at runbox.com
Thu Oct 29 08:21:44 CET 2009



> I was considering applying for a position with an east coast company
> that does all Python, and they explicitly state that they require
> "salary requirements" with resumes. I was chatting with the CTO at
> PyCon that year and expressed my reservations about that. He
> basically said, "look, it's in no one's interest for us to talk to
> people who require a salary outside our means; it's not a good use of
> time and it's not fiscally responsible for us to convince ourselves
> that they're worth it and stretch ourselves too thin. It's also not
> in our best interest to pay someone just what they require if we want
> to retain them. So hopefully people see it as an opportunity to start
> a mutually beneficial, trusting relationship." I think the thing that
> struck me was that I was assuming "the man" was out to get me, and
> here the man was saying "we're trusting you to do our business, we
> require some trust in return."

> I applied, stated my requirements (with some justification), and
> received an offer at the top end of the range I specified. I wound up
> turning it down for reasons unrelated to salary, but the experience
> does make me approach that question differently these days.

He can solve the problem of "not wasting people's time" by stating what the job pays in the job ad. Applicants who require a higher salary need not apply. He must have other reasons for wanting the salary information. I don't understand why him hiding salary information and the applicant providing it is  called a "mutually trusting relationship".

Personally I think the whole point of companies not putting salary information in ads is to give them the upper hand in wage negotiation. You have no idea what they will pay but they no exactly what you will work for.

Some companies may ask for salary information later in the game to use in salary negotiation, but if they ask for it early like this gentlemen, then I assume that the reason is to use that information to try and judge how good a person is. Salary doesn't have to match talent, but it is an extra piece of data to consider.

Rob


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